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He has been paying about $45 a week to fill up his Ford Explorer and, with gas prices now at about $3.84 per gallon, is likely to pay more. So, he immediately became enthusiastic when he heard about an idea now getting serious attention:

A bus route linking North Port and Port Charlotte, with stops at major employment centers on or near U.S. 41 such as Fawcett and nearby Peace River Medical Center.

“I love public transportation,” said Ficer, a former resident of Brooklyn and Long Island who relied on transit to get to his job in Manhattan.

Ficer would rather “relax and read” during his commute than pay attention to traffic. And, if sharing a ride with others saves him money, he is definitely interested in seeing less of his paycheck go into his car's gas tank.

The neighboring communities of North Port and Port Charlotte are growing into a metropolitan area in their own right. More and more residents cross the Sarasota County-Charlotte County line daily to work, shop and play.

Regional transportation planners say the time may have come to provide those drivers with a more affordable option other than their cars.

A potential bus route crossing a county line is not without precedent in this area.

For several years, Sarasota County Area Transit and Manatee County Area Transit have operated a U.S. 41 route linking downtown Sarasota, downtown Palmetto and major destinations in between — such as the airport, State College of Florida and downtown Bradenton.

Now, two transportation panels comprising mayors, county commissioners and other elected officials — the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization and Charlotte County-Punta Gorda Metropolitan Organization — are considering a North Port-Port Charlotte bus service.

The MPOs prioritize federal and state transportation spending from Palmetto to Punta Gorda and could make a pitch for a federal or state grant to get the proposed route under way.

First, however, they must determine whether enough people are willing to get on board.

“What is going to determine feasibility is route alignment and sufficient ridership,” said Whit Blanton of the Renaissance Planning Group, an Orlando firm the MPOs will use to find those answers.

Charlotte does not have a fixed route bus service like Sarasota County. So, if the new route is warranted, SCAT would most likely extend its service into Charlotte just as it did in Manatee.

Charlotte does, however, have a dial-a-ride service “that's doing pretty well and costs less than a taxi,” said Nick Lepp, a Renaissance consultant.

Lepp is going to examine where those dial-a-ride customers go and how often North Port is their destination.

Renaissance is also going to survey employers along U.S. 41 and their employees to find out where the workers live, whether they car pool and whether they would prefer to take public transit.

“They'll be looking at all the employers and employees along the way,” Bob Herrington, executive director of the Charlotte County-Punta Gorda MPO, said.

Lepp hopes to have some preliminary findings by March 8, when the two county commissions are to have a joint session.

“Any type of fixed route would have to be endorsed by them,” Michael Howe, executive director of the Sarasota-Manatee MPO, said of the two county commissions.

Robert Rosenberg, chairman of the North Port Economic Development Corp., is hoping for a positive result.

North Port-Port Charlotte bus service would boost his nonprofit agency's agenda of attracting more employers in sectors such as the hospitality industry, health care and education, Rosenberg said.

“People who work in the area really don't care about political boundaries when it comes to transportation,” Rosenberg said. “Where public transportation works well, it seems to be utilized. And transportation always helps economic development.”

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